Pastagina in Irvine's Woodbury Neighborhood Shutters

If it seems like it's only been a year since Pastagina opened; that's because it has. The concept debuted February of 2008 and won our Best Yogurt category on the Best Of Issue 2008. And now, it is closed, out of business, kaput, history.

The Italian pasta fast-casual that touted precision cooking of al dente pasta by machines, and one that I reviewed and actually enjoyed, has been getting less popular of late.

But as far as I can tell, it was up and operational up until a few weeks ago. No word on the fate of other Pastagina locations in the L.A. area.

With the recent closings of young restaurants like Bistro West in Tustin, which was also barely a year old, this proves the old rule that nine out of ten restaurants close after the first year. The down economy probably didn't help either.

Edwin Goei was born on the island of Java, grew up in La Habra, studied in Irvine, and eats everywhere. Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, he went by the alias "elmomonster" on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.